The present invention is intended as an improvement to pop out handle locks used typically in vending machines and utilized to lockingly engage the door to the main chamber of the machine.
In a typical application, a pop out handle system, the door contains a lock mechanism, which includes a pop out handle, actuated by an appropriate key which is exposed to the outer portion of the door. The interior portion of the lock mechanism includes a threaded stud, which extends toward the main chamber of the machine and is typically adapted to be screw threaded into a stud receiving fixture, securely mounted to the inside portion of the main chamber.
To unlock the pop out handle lock, and operator inserts the proper key into the lock placed inside the pop out handle, which actuates the handle to pop towards the user. The handle is then turned counterclockwise, which unscrews the lock stud from the internal locking fixture.
In order to lock the door to the main chamber, the operator reverses the procedure, such that the door is closed and the stud is oriented in linear alignment with the internal locking fixture (which usually contains a threaded nut), then the handle is rotated clockwise, resulting in engaging the stud into the locking fixture. When the thread is fully engaged, the operator depresses the handle into the recess provided by the machine and the depressed position is maintained by the engagement of a locking bolt.
The current design requires significant effort and time to be spent by the person who is filling the vending machine (routeman) when the door is being opened and closed. There is no record of who entered the machine and when the machine was entered. The machine is easily compromised by anyone who has duplicated a key, which is an easy task. If it has been determined that a key had been stolen, or duplicated, there is significant effort, time and expense involved in re-keying the lock.